A/HRC/43/45/Add.1 economic and social model prominently based on such objectives will not contribute to sustainable development in the long term. Unless development processes are fully anchored in a human rights framework, economic development will not enhance the realization of the people’s rights. To that end, States need to comprehensively and regularly assess the impact of economic policies and reforms on human rights, particularly the human rights of groups and persons in marginalized and vulnerable positions, and mitigate or remedy any negative effects of the policies. 58. The transition to a new Government should be based on democratic processes and full respect for human rights and the rule of law. Any reform measures that a new Government may adopt should build on the significant advances made in the last decade in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, and seek to address the existing fiscal and macroeconomic challenges highlighted in this report, using the guiding principles on human rights impact assessments of economic reforms as a guidance. 59. The Independent Expert makes the following recommendations to the Government, in order to maximize the contribution of its economic and social model to the full and equal realization of human rights for all: (a) The current revenue matrix, which heavily depends on VAT and hydrocarbons taxes, is highly regressive and has a limited redistributive value. The direct tax bases should be broadened and more progressive forms of direct taxes considered, such as personal income tax and wealth tax, particularly in view of the fact that hydrocarbons tax is vulnerable to external price volatility and its redistributive impact limited; (b) It is crucial, as a first step, to collect and study comprehensive, accurate and disaggregated data on the scale of informality and its impact on the economy and the human rights of the population. On the basis of objective evidence, the Government should make targeted efforts to achieve a transition to the formal economy and a comprehensive social protection system; (c) In light of numerous and divergent indications of a significant volume of illicit financial flows, the Government should urgently address the clear shortcomings in official estimates and analysis of data related to illicit financial flows and take such data into account in formulating policies in this area; (d) The Government should establish a legal framework governing the protection of witnesses and whistle-blowers, in line with article 32 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption; (e) While acknowledging the Government’s strong commitment to gender equality, the economic inclusion of women has not gone far enough. In particular, unpaid care and domestic work should be recognized as valuable work, taking into account the actual economic value and contribution of such work to the economy and including it in national accounts. The Government should invest more public funds in the care economy – that is, care for people with disabilities, children and older persons, as well as health care – and ensure that high-quality care services are accessible and affordable to all, taking into account all possible family structures without any kind of discrimination; (f) The existing legal framework governing processes of prior consultation with affected communities falls short of international human rights standards and does not comprehensively cover all infrastructure projects that may have a significant impact on the human rights of such communities, particularly the human rights of indigenous peoples. The Government should establish comprehensive and robust legislation that mandates a full human rights impact assessment for any infrastructure project and meaningful consultations with potentially or actually affected communities, in line with international human rights law and standards; (g) More generally, human rights impact assessments should be integrated as an essential component of economic policymaking. To this end, human rights indicators that are being jointly developed by the Ministry of Justice and the National 18